Bucky Finds Steve
by Disgarded
Summary: Takes place after The Winter Soldier - what if instead of Steve finding Bucky, Bucky found Steve?


_(This is a little thing I wrote directly after seen The Winter Soldier. As much as I enjoyed the fics detailing how messed up and unable to function Bucky was after the movie, I wanted to explore the idea that he might actually be able to start to figure things out on his own. He's not perfect, and he's not who he once was, but he's free and he's figuring it out as he goes along.)_

* * *

><p>The face in the photos was familiar; it was definitely his face. Everything else was wrong, though.<p>

The exhibit said that he and Captain America had been best friends since childhood. The actual details about the life of Sergeant James Barnes were sparse; his story was told as if he'd been merely a small part of the larger story of the Great Captain. He was a sidekick, a one-time accessory to the man who ultimately, didn't really need him. He was the sentimental anecdote in a prologue of Steve Roger's life. A story that proved the Captain had been human before he'd become something more, something greater.

No matter how long he stood there, or how many times he read the biography, it didn't feel like James Barnes had been a real person. He, along with the other Howling Commandos, was a legend. A story told to children in order to inspire them. Sergeant Barnes, missing in action somewhere in the Alps, had given his life for his country. He'd blazed into battle beside Captain America, fighting for the freedom of people everywhere. Fighting so that one day, boys and girls could see his face in a museum and realize that they, too, could be as brave and as loyal as he'd been.

Not only did the James "Bucky" Barnes described not seem real, he sure as hell didn't seem like someone who would one day become the Winter Soldier.

But despite everything, the name "Bucky" felt right somehow.

Hands in his pockets, he stepped back out onto the street. He was going to find out who this James Barnes - Bucky - had been. He was going to learn about the man who shared his face, if nothing else.

* * *

><p>Six months later...<p>

Steve was fighting in the streets of Texas City, Texas, of all places. Some crazy scientist had figured out how to make a machine that created hurricanes, and was beginning testing on it in Galveston Bay.

The device had a hair trigger, and Steve had called in Tony to take a look to see if there was a way to disarm the device _without_ creating a hurricane that could potentially take half of Texas and part of Louisiana with it.

Meanwhile, Steve was fighting a horde of robots the scientist had also released on the streets, doing his best to keep property damage to a minimum and ignore Tony's inevitable cries of "YEEHAW" every time he remembered where they were.

Which was often.

The Hulk had been a definite no-go, since property damage was not the desired outcome, but Steve really wished Natasha and Barton weren't tied up hunting down the remaining Hydra sleeper agents. He could've used their-

"YEE HAW!"

- subtlety.

The robot situation was just about under control when something grabbed him from behind and lifted him into the air. He let out a surprised squawk that Tony caught over the radio.

"All right there, pard'ner?"

"Going for a ride. Stay on the machine!" was all he had time to say before he was plunged head-first into the bay.

The robot continued to propel him downward until he came to a rest on the bottom of the bay - which didn't take long, since the bay was only about 12 feet deep. Still, now he was under 12 feet of water and the robot was showing no signs of letting go, no matter how hard Steve struggled.

Even though part of his mind knew that the more he struggled, the quicker he'd run out of air, the part of his mind that didn't like being held underwater was much louder right at the moment. Steve could hold his breath a fairly long time, but not long enough. Not when he was beginning to panic.

His eyes were closed as he struggled with all his might. He didn't have the necessary leverage to pry the robot off of him, and the longer he stayed underwater, the more his mind got caught up in the fear of drowning.

He didn't see the other figure swim up to him, but he felt the robot's arms begin to loosen and opened his eyes to see Bucky prying the robot's arms apart.

Steve was finally free, and mostly out of air, but he just drifted there on the bottom of the bay in shock, staring at his friend.

Bucky rolled his eyes and grabbed Steve's uniform, hauling him towards the surface for a second time in less than a year.

They broke the surface together, Steve with a gasp, and Bucky with a sardonic twist of the lips.

"You making a habit of this or something?" he asked.

Steve coughed, treading water. "What?"

"Drowning. Is this a new hobby you're trying? You used to draw."

Steve was stunned speechless, not sure whether to laugh or cry, and completely afraid that the man he'd been looking for was going to up and disappear right before his eyes.

Bucky rolled his eyes again. "Come on, punk."

He tugged on Steve's uniform again, and the two began to swim to the shore.

By the time they'd come out of the water near a chemical company, the unnatural cloud covering was gone, and the wind had died down. It appeared that Tony had been successful in shutting down the device. All Steve could think to say was "My radio's shot. I can't call for a ride."

Bucky reached into a zippered pocket of his uniform, pulled out a cell phone - surprisingly dry - and tossed it to him. "Hope you know his number."

Steve dialed Jarvis, who patched him through to Tony. He reported that the scientist had been apprehended by the authorities, and the "robotic varmits" had been "rounded up".

Steve let him know there was one more at the bottom of the bay, and when Tony offered a ride, Steve just told him that he'd find his own way back.

After that, Bucky and Steve walked to an older model car that Bucky had left on an access road, and Bucky took them back into town. When Bucky dropped Steve off, he simply told him he'd see him later, as if they met this way all the time.

"When?" Steve asked, trying not to let his panic show on his face.

"Soon" Bucky answered. "I'll stop by your place in Brooklyn next week."

Steve didn't even wonder how Bucky knew where he lived. He just really hoped it was true.

A week later, someone knocked on his door.


End file.
